Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Children and Young People’s Resettlement Fund

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: My Honourable friend the Minister for Housing and Homelessness (Felicity Buchan MP) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement:I am pleased to announce eleven projects that have secured funding from the Children and Young People’s Resettlement Fund. This £2.5 million fund facilitates projects in England until March 2025 that support young people, aged 21 and under, on the Ukraine, Afghan and Hong Kong BN(O) pathways.The fund aims to have a positive effect on the lives of children and young people on these pathways by addressing their specific needs and vulnerabilities, including mental health and trauma. The projects will provide support to enable children and young people to recover from traumatic experiences, displacement or resettlement and to integrate into society whilst retaining a connection to their culture.Projects will be delivered during 2023/24 and 2024/25 and will contribute to our understanding of effective interventions for these young people.Bids for a share of the funding were open to councils and voluntary organisations by application launched on 27 September 2023. From the 167 applications received, the following eleven organisations will be funded a total of £2.191m:NameAmount Barnardo’s£300,000Beacon Family Services CIC£45,191Bradford Foundation Trust£193,116Catalyst Psychology Community Interest Company£159,770HealthProm£199,700Hong Kong Well UK£226,748International Rescue Committee UK£234,522PATH Yorkshire Ltd.,£298,330St. Mary's Ukrainian School Limited£323,725Stoke-on Trent and North Staffordshire Theatre Trust Limited (New Vic Theatre)£162,369Wiltshire Council£47,602Total£2.191mClose to £290,000 will remain to fund projects commencing next financial year.Funding will be allocated to the devolved administrations according to the Barnett formula.

Cabinet Office

UK Integrated Security Fund FY 24/25

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: I wish to update the House on the launch of the UK Integrated Security Fund (ISF) announced in the Integrated Review Refresh (IRR) by the Prime Minister on 12 March 2023. The Integrated Security Fund (ISF) will succeed the existing Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) in April 2024.The ISF is a cross-Government fund developed to tackle the highest- priority threats to UK national security at home and overseas. The ISF will use Official Development Assistance (ODA) and non-ODA funding to enable the delivery of National Security Council priorities. It will take an integrated, agile, catalytic, and high-risk approach to find solutions to the most complex national security challenges outlined in the IRR 2023.Through integrating domestic and overseas national security programming, it will aim to have real-world strategic impact, bring value for taxpayers’ money, and demonstrate UK innovation.The ISF will build on the important work supported by the CSSF. New areas of ISF programming will reflect the priorities set out in the IRR and will add additional priorities, including maritime security, economic sanctions and emerging and disruptive technology such as AI and quantum computing. The ISF has allocated almost £1bn for FY 24/25 bringing some existing economic deterrence and cyber programmes into the single fund. In FY 22/23, the CSSF invested £830m as set out in the CSSF Annual Report FY 22/23.The report demonstrates how CSSF programmes have delivered clear results. In the Lake Chad Basin region in West Africa data collection, analysis and coordination between the military and police improved the response to the threat from Improvised Explosive Devices to local communities. Violent extremist groups operating globally pose a threat to the UK and to our allies. To counter the increase in the threat of Turkish manufactured converted blank-firing weapons on UK streets, CSSF programmes invested in capacity building and advice resulting in changes to firearms legislation in Turkey. This resulted in a drop in the sales of blank firearms in Turkey and a decrease in imports of blank firearms into the UK.These examples highlight the Fund’s tangible contribution to enhance UK national security through integrated programmes across 12 government departments and agencies, with a presence in over 90 countries and territories.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Israel/Gaza update

Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton: My Right Honourable Friend, the Minister of State for Development and Africa (Andrew Mitchell MP), has made the following written statement:The Government supports Israel's right to self-defence, in compliance with International Humanitarian Law, against the horrific terror attacks perpetrated by Hamas on 7 October 2023.We condemn the slaughter, abuse and gender-based violence perpetrated on 7th October 2023, Hamas’ use of civilian areas, their continued failure to release hostages and their ongoing launching of attacks into Israel.We are working to end the fighting in Gaza, to stop the further loss of civilian lives and create the conditions for a permanent peace.The most effective way to end the fighting in Gaza is to agree an immediate humanitarian pause, which we have consistently called for. This would allow for the safe release of hostages and a significant increase in the aid going to Gaza.Crucially, it would also provide a vital opportunity to establish the conditions for a genuinely long-term and sustainable ceasefire, without a return to destruction, fighting and loss of life.That is a position shared by our close partners, and what our diplomatic efforts are focused on.We have set out the vital elements for a lasting peace, namely:the immediate release of all hostages;removing Hamas’s capacity to launch attacks against Israel;Hamas no longer being in charge of Gaza;the formation of a new Palestinian Government for the West Bank and Gaza, accompanied by an international support package; and,a political horizon which provides a credible and irreversible pathway towards a two-state solution.We are increasingly concerned about the growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza and recognise the urgent need to significantly scale up the flow of aid getting in. All parties must take immediate steps to ensure unhindered humanitarian access, ease restrictions on humanitarian supplies and ensure the UN and aid agencies can reach civilians in need throughout Gaza.The UK is stepping up support. We have tripled our aid commitment. In the last week, family tents provided by the UK and Qatar have arrived in Rafah, and on Wednesday, the UK and Jordan air-dropped life-saving aid to a hospital in northern Gaza, providing four tonnes of vital supplies including medicines and food for hospital patients and staff.We remain deeply concerned at the number of civilian casualties to date, and at the prospect of an Israeli military offensive into Rafah. Over half of Gaza’s population are sheltering in the area, and the Rafah crossing is vital to ensure aid can reach the people who so desperately need it. We continue to urge Israel to limit its operations to military targets and avoid harming citizens.Ultimately, a two-state solution is the best way to ensure safety and security for both Israelis and Palestinians. Our long-standing position remains that we will recognise a Palestinian State at a time that is most conducive to the peace process.The Palestinian Authority has an important long-term role to play and will need continued support from us and our partners, but it must also take concrete steps on reform. We remain concerned about the situation in the West Bank– and have taken action in response to extremist settler violence.We are committed to finding a lasting resolution to this conflict that ensures Israelis and Palestinians can live in the future with dignity and security. It is the aim of the Government to see an end to the fighting as soon as possible and the creation of a permanent peace based on a new political horizon for the region.

Department for Transport

Local Transport update

Lord Davies of Gower: My Right Honourable friend, the Secretary of State for Transport (Mr Mark Harper), has made the following Ministerial Statement.I am pleased to inform the House that my Department has today published details of the new £4.7 billion Local Transport Fund dedicated to transport funding across the North and Midlands. The Local Transport Fund delivers on a commitment made in our Network North plan and is paid for by savings from HS2.As the Prime Minister committed, every pound of the £36 billion that would have been spent on HS2 phase 2 will be invested into transport improvements that benefit far more people, in far more places, far more quickly. Every penny of the £19.8 billion committed to the Northern leg will go to the North and every penny of the £9.6 billion committed to the Midlands leg to the Midlands, with the £6.5 billion saved by our new approach to Euston benefitting the rest of the country.We are sticking to our plan to level up communities with greater transport links right across the UK for a brighter future. Our plan will ensure millions of people in the North and the Midlands will benefit from better public transport, reduced congestion and upgraded local bus and train stations thanks to the new £4.7 billion Local Transport Fund. £2.5 billion will go to the North and £2.2 billion to the Midlands across the next seven years (2025-2032).Larger combined authorities in the North and Midlands have already had confirmation of significant extra funding – with a further £8.5 billion increase to the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements paid for by HS2. We are extending this successful model to all local authorities in the North and Midlands through the Local Transport Fund, providing the first transport budget of its kind for our smaller cities, towns and rural areas.This is an historic level of funding for these councils. The new funds can pay for the infrastructure that communities really want: from new roads to new mass transit systems, more EV charge-points or refurbished bus and train stations, to filling in potholes. It will be for locally elected representatives – Councils, working with local MPs, not Whitehall – to decide how to spend this money and they will be accountable to their voters for how they do. The local knowledge of Members of Parliament will be vital, so I am requiring councils to consult their local Members of Parliament before spending this new funding. The funding is available from next year – giving time for councils to develop plans for this unanticipated funding boost.This announcement builds on our progress of delivering reallocated HS2 spending into new transport schemes across the country. We have extended the national £2 bus fare cap. We announced the first down payment of a £1 billion investment in buses, with £150 million being allocated over the next year across the North and Midlands. We set out details of our new £8.3 billion road resurfacing fund, with the first £150 million already reaching local authorities.Details of the total funding each local transport authority will receive are published on GOV.UK. The Local Transport Fund is in addition to local transport funding from the last Spending Review and to what local transport authorities were expecting to receive in future. The Government will publish the annual allocations for this fund in due course. To ensure local authorities can make the most of this unprecedented funding, Government will publish advice for local authorities. We will ask local authorities to determine their local transport priorities and develop delivery plans, by Autumn 2024, for projects to be funded by the Local Transport Fund. The Local Transport Fund is predominantly capital. It will include a resource element to ensure local authorities can deliver their plans. We will support local authorities as they develop their plans so that they are ready to deliver improvements with the Local Transport Fund from April 2025.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Online Slots Response

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: I am repeating the following Written Ministerial Statement made on 23 February 2024 in the other place by my Right Honourable Friend, the Minister for Sport, Gambling and Civil Society, Stuart Andrew MP:I wish to inform the House that His Majesty’s Government has today published its response to the ‘Consultation on proposals for a maximum stake limit for online slots games’.Online slots games can be associated with large losses, long sessions, and binge play, posing a higher risk of gambling harm. However, unlike land-based gaming machines which offer broadly similar games, they have no statutory stake limits. The Gambling Act Review white paper, published last April, committed to addressing the risk posed to players by these theoretically limitless online slots stakes. This is in line with the Government's objectives of protecting people from gambling-related harm, levelling the regulatory playing field between offline and online gambling, and more broadly bringing our gambling regulation into the smartphone era.The consultation ran from 26 July to 4 October and invited views on a stake limit for online slots games of £2, £5, £10 or £15 per spin. It also outlined options for additional protections for those aged 18 to 24 through a £2 limit, a £4 limit, or specific protections on a case-by-case basis.Following consultation, the Government will introduce a statutory maximum stake limit of £5 per spin. We will also introduce a statutory maximum limit of £2 per spin for young adults aged 18-24 years old, who the evidence suggests can be particularly vulnerable to harms associated with high stakes play.We believe these limits are proportionate and will achieve the Government’s stated objectives of reducing the risk of gambling-related harm while minimising the risk of unintended consequences and disruption for the vast majority of gamblers who do not suffer harm. Importantly, these changes bring online slot games in line with existing restrictions on slot machines in casinos. These limits are also aligned with the recommendation made by the DCMS Select Committee’s Second Report into Gambling Regulation, published in December 2023.Our intention is that the imposed limits should serve as a maximum stake which customers can choose to stake up to, rather than as a new default which operators drive customers towards, or which is otherwise seen as objectively ‘safe’. We will continue to monitor the evidence base and there will be future opportunities to review and if necessary adjust the limits.Stake limits will also build on existing protections and controls for those who gamble through online slots games and will work alongside other measures outlined in the gambling white paper, including frictionless financial risk checks, data sharing on high-risk customers, and making online games safer by design.The limits will come into force in September this year, once we have laid the necessary legislation. The white paper package also contained proposals that will support the land-based gambling industry and the introduction of a statutory levy for research, prevention and treatment. The consultations for these measures have now closed and we will publish our response to them in the coming months.I will deposit a copy of the Consultation in the libraries of both houses.